Gov. Dave Heineman, on Wednesday, requested U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to declare agricultural disasters for nine Nebraska counties as a result of crop damage experienced this summer following excessive rain, hail, high winds, and flooding.

 “This request reflects the impact of major storms that brought heavy rain in a short period of time, often with damaging winds and hail,” Heineman said. “While moisture during the growing season is a good thing, these areas experienced too much rain.”

 The request includes Box Butte, Cheyenne and Kimball Counties in western Nebraska; Boone, Boyd, Garfield, and Holt Counties in the north central part of the state; Dawson County in central Nebraska; and Johnson County in southeast Nebraska.

 According to reports compiled by U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency offices, a range of crops in these counties were impacted including alfalfa, wheat, soybeans, sunflowers, millet, sorghum, sugar beets, pinto and kidney beans, and oats.

 Secretarial Natural Disaster Designations are necessary to access various USDA disaster assistance programs, including low-interest loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program, or SURE.